- quote -
Oni, ubiquitous supernatural figures in Japanese literature, lore, art, and religion, usually appear as demons or ogres. Characteristically threatening, monstrous creatures with ugly features and fearful habits, including cannibalism, they also can be harbingers of prosperity, beautiful and sexual, and especially in modern contexts, even cute and lovable. There has been much ambiguity in their character and identity over their long history. Usually male, their female manifestations convey distinctively gendered social and cultural meanings.
Oni
appear frequently in various arts and media, from Noh theater and picture scrolls to modern fiction and political propaganda, They remain common figures in popular Japanese anime, manga, and film and are becoming embedded in American and international popular culture through such media. Noriko Reiderýs book is the first in English devoted to oni. Reider fully examines their cultural history, multifaceted roles, and complex significance as "others" to the Japanese.- amazon com -

Hansen, Wilburn Hansen When Tengu Talk:
Hirata Atsutane's Ethnography of the Other World

Hirata Atsutane 平田篤胤 (1776-1843)
has been the subject of numerous studies that focus on his importance to nationalist politics and Japanese intellectual and social history. His prolific writings on supernatural subjects have never been thoroughly analysed in English until now. - amazon com -

- quote - Nihon Ryōiki 日本霊異記
is an early Heian period setsuwa collection. Written by Kyōkai between 787 and 824, it is Japan's oldest collection of Buddhist 説話 Setsuwa sermons .
It is three volumes in length.- - - - - Title
Commonly abbreviated as Nihon Ryōiki, which means "Ghostly Strange Records from Japan," the full title isNihonkoku Genpō Zen'aku Ryōiki (日本国現報善悪霊異記).
It may also be read as Nihon Reiiki 日本霊記 .
The book has been translated into English under the title Miraculous Stories from the Japanese Buddhist Tradition, but this does not represent a literal translation of the Japanese title.- - - - - Contents
The work is composed of three parts contained within three volumes. Each volume begins with a preface, and the final volume contains an epilogue. There are a total of 116 tales all dealing with Buddhist elements. There are also a total of nine poems.- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

少子部蜾蠃 Chiisakobe no Sugaru once invited a kaminari 雷 thunderbolt on request
of 雄略天皇 Emperor Yuryaku.
The emperor wanted to see a Kaminari close up, so Chiisakobe whent up a hill in Asuka, grabed a thunderbolt and showed it to the Emperor. It looked like a huge flickering serpent and the Emperor ordered Sugaru to bring it back immediately.
After Sugaru's death a stone memorial was erected in the place where it had happened. The inscription read
取雷栖軽之墓 Grave of Sugaru who grabed a thunderbolt.
The Kaminari deity got angry and tried to hit the stone, but was caught instead.

At the time of 敏達天皇 Emperor Bidatsu a farmer once went to his fields to drain the water off. But suddenly he found himself in a huge storm and rain. So he rested under a tree, but a thunderbolt hit. The Thunderbolt had the shape of a child and said:
"If you save me, I will give you a child."
So the farmer let the Thunderbolt go back to heaven and his wife became pregnant.

In 但馬国 Harima no Kuni (Northern part of Hyogo)
A young girl was once carried away by 鷲 an eagle. Many years later she was found in 丹波国加佐郡 the Kasa district of Tanba and could finally return home to her parents.

tooru no daijin no rei 融の大臣の霊 / Tôru daijin / The Minister Toru
Most of the stories of ghosts are about people becoming ghosts and appearing as a skull.
One of the oldest records is the Nihon Ryooiki 日本霊異記 Nihon Ryoiki.
宇多院 Emperor Uda (867 - 931) made an official visit to 河原院 Kawara no In (the official residence of Minamoto no Tooru 源融 Toru (822 - 895).
The late owner of this Kawara residence, Toru, appeared clad in 衣冠 formal robes as a ghost to greet the visitor.
Kawara no Sadaijin 河原左大臣 - Poet and statesman

- quote - Gagoze ガゴゼ
Gagoze is a horrible-looking ghost who haunts the ancient temple Gango-ji in Nara prefecture. His story dates back to the Asuka period (550-710 CE). He is first depicted in illustration in Toriyama Sekien’s Gazu Hyakki Yakko, and he is said to take the appearance of a demon in monk’s garb.
His story says that during the time of Emperor Bidatsu, in old Owari province (now Nagoya in Aichi prefecture), lightning struck the ground near an farmer’s house. From the lightning emerged a thunder god in the form of a young boy, and the farmer ran outside with a stick to kill the boy. The boy pleaded with the farmer to spare his life, and promised that he would return the deed by giving the farmer and his family a young boy as strong as the thunder god. The farmer agreed, and allowed the thunder god to return to the sky.
Sure enough, the farmer’s wife soon bore a child, and the child was as strong as a thunder god! However, the child was born with a snake wrapped around his head, with the head and tail going down the back like a ponytail. When the boy turned 10, he had grown so strong and proud that he challenged a member of the imperial family to a contest of strength and won. ..... - source : Matthew Meyer -

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- copied from the original, with hyperlinks to the ehonnavi pages -

強欲の僧を風刺した「虎にゃあにゃあ」、江戸幕府の鋳造による天保通宝を風刺した「ちょうせん一賈婦人」など、風刺としての妖怪も多い。また伝承・空想上・創作の妖怪のほかにも、身体的特徴を見世物とする者を記録した「大きな陰嚢」「提灯男」、当時はまだ珍しかった動物を妖怪視したものとして、アザラシまたはオットセイを描いた「鐘崎浦の珍獣」といったものもある。- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

- quoteKaikidan Ekotoba, a mysterious handscroll that profiles 33 legendary monsters and human oddities, mostly from the Kyushu region of Japan (with several from overseas).
The cartoonish document, whose author is unknown, is believed to date from the mid-19th century. It is now in the possession of the Fukuoka City Museum.
. . .
Many Edo-period scrolls featured illustrations of unfamiliar creatures -- animals that actually existed but were rarely seen in Japan (such as fur seals and sea lions), along with creatures generally regarded as imaginary (mermaids and kappa).

The "Korean monk"
in this illustration, seen singing and playing a gekkin (moon guitar), has the physical characteristics of a kappa (water imp).

Kawataro
The kawataro is a variety of kappa (water imp) which, according to the accompanying text, likes to eat people and practice sumo. An indentation on top of the creature's head is filled with water. The kawataro becomes weak when the water spills out.

The Metamorphosis of the Kappa
- Transformation of Folklore to Folklorism in Japan

The kappa is a mischievous water goblin of Japanese folklore. This article presents an overview of some of the characteristics of the kappa, including the dish-like cavity on its head, its penchant for eating cucumbers, its aversion to gourds and to iron, and its habit of trying to pull horses, cattle, and humans into the water. Some of the major critical literature regarding the kappa is discussed, including work by Yanagita Kunio, Orikuchi Shinobu, Ishida Eiichiro, and structural anthropologist Cornelis Ouwehand.
The concept of folklorism (folklorismus) is briefly defined and applied to the kappa belief.
Through folklorism, artists, writers, cartoonists, and commercial interests have transformed the kappa from a malicious and unpleasant water deity into a harmless and lov­able mascot.- source : Nanzan University - PDF file

... His first book — “Pandemonium and Parade” — grew out of these studies and forged many of his Japanese connections in the yokai world.

Leaving Japan in 1993 after nearly four years, Foster did not yet think of folklore as an area of study, although his Japanese had progressed enough to enjoy the local stories, particularly on a trip to Tohoku and Iwate Prefectures, and the city of Tono, an area rich in folkloric traditions where, coincidentally, the founder of folklore studies in Japan, Kunio Yanagita, had extensively researched. Returning to the University of California at Berkeley to start a master’s degree in “something practical,” Foster realized he could not forget the stories —
particularly the stories about the kappa, a Japanese water sprite legendary in Tono. Luckily, the university offered a master’s program in Asian studies, and he wrote his thesis on kappa.
After graduating and returning to Japan to study the language intensively, Foster moved onto Stanford University, graduating in 2003 where he wrote his doctorate dissertation on yokai.
... “As a folklorist, I like to have ambiguity. If I get one thing across in “The Book of Yokai” it is that there are many different versions of all these creatures, and you can not say anything definitive about them except to create broad categories.”source : Japan Times, January 2015

- quoteCOMBAT and SUMO
The chief delight of the mischievous Kappa is to challenge humans to single combat. Indeed, the Kappa delights in Japanese sumo wrestling, and often challenges its victim to a sumo bout.
Writes scholar Michael Dylan Foster: :
“In one legend involving sumo, some children are playing by the water when a child with whom they are unacquainted appears and challenges them to sumo. Observing this child closely, they realize it is actually a kappa, and that there is water in the sara on its head. Accordingly, they shake their own heads; the kappa imitates them, spilling the water. Bereft of all strength, it is forced to leave.
This love of the sport of sumo can be found throughout much kappa lore. One common method for defeating the kappa when challenged to sumo, or any other confrontation, is simply to bow politely. The kappa, though mischievous, is essentially a polite creature who defers to human ritual; it will bow in response, spilling its water, and thus losing its power.” - source : Mark Schumacher

Michael Dylan Foster:
"The kappa is notorious for attempting to lure horses and cows to a watery death; but the key word here is attempting. In most versions of this legend, the kappa fails; its plan backfires and it (or just its arm) is pulled by the startled horse all the way to the stable. The kappa's success rate in fondling women's shiri in the toilet may be slightly higher, but often on its second attempt its arm is grabbed and yanked from the body. And when its mischief goes awry, when it is weakened from losing water from its sara or incapacitated (emasculated) by a yanked-off arm, the honest and benevolent side of the kappa's nature surfaces.
In order to be set free or receive back its arm (the arm can often be reattached within a certain number of days), the kappa will take an oath. It will pledge, for instance, to stop harassing people in the area, or to assist with work in the fields, or to teach its captor secret bonesetting techniques and formulas for making medicine and salves. It should be noted that this last trait - the kappa's familiarity with bonesetting and other medical procedures - is one of the most widespread of the beliefs associated with the kappa.”- source : Mark Schumacher

Michael Dylan Foster:
“One of the better known of the kappa's traits is its love of kyuri, or cucumbers. Many of the festivals associated with kappa include offerings of cucumbers (e.g., Takeda 1988, and Orikuchi 1955,). Here again, the complexity of the kappa belief is apparent. As Takeda points out, there are some regions where it is believed that eating a cucumber and then swimming will lead to certain attack by a kappa, while in other areas it is a way to ensure protection against attack (Takeda 1988).
Other foods to which the kappa is partial include nasu (Japanese eggplant), soba (buckwheat noodles), natto (fermented soybeans), and kabocha (pumpkin). .
Although the kappa is attracted to some foods of the uri, or melon, grouping - such as kyuri and kabocha - it is clear that it has an aversion to hyotan (gourds), which are also of the melon group.
The Nihon shoki passage cited above shows that the power of hyotan to confound the kappa was understood early on.
In one of the folktales involving kappa, the so-called kappa muko, or "kappa bridegroom tale" (Ikeda 1971), the same motif appears. A farmer, whose fields have dried up because of drought, offers his daughter to anybody who can irrigate them. A kappa succeeds in this task and receives the reluctant bride. The daughter, however, challenges the kappa to sink some gourds in the river. The kappa soon exhausts itself trying to complete this impossible task, and abandons the marriage.”- source : Mark Schumacher

source : JAANUS kappa 河童 Lit. river child.
A supernatural water-sprite believed to inhabit Japan's lakes and rivers. The name kappa varies from region to region, and includes kawatarou 河太郎, kawako 河伯, and kawaranbe 河ランベ. The appearance of a kappa also varies, but kappa are generally thought to be about the size of a young boy, and covered with green scales. They also have a snout, bobbed hair, and a saucer-like depression on the top of the head that holds water. When this water supply diminishes, the kappa's special powers diminish. Kappa swim well thanks to webbed feet and hands, but can also walk on land. Kappa also can rotate their arm and leg joints fully. Some kappa resemble otters, turtles with beaks, or have wings. Kappa are said to be fond of cucumbers and of sumou 相撲 wrestling. In some regions kappa are thought to be helpful, but generally their reputation is far more malicious. In particular, kappa delight in abducting humans and horses. Kappa are noted for their aversion to metal objects.
Illustrations of kappa frequently are included in Edo period anthologies of supernatural tales. Kappa are often depicted in comical paintings giga 戯画 in paintings accompanying verse (see haiga 俳画), and occasionally appear in ukiyo-e 浮世絵

- - - - - wikipediaA Kappa (河童, "river-child")
, alternatively called kawatarō (川太郎, "river-boy"), komahiki (“horse puller”), or kawako (川子, "river-child"),
is a yōkai found in Japanese folklore, and also a cryptid. The name is a combination of the word kawa (river) and wappo, an inflection of warabe (child). In Shintō they are considered to be one of many suijin (水神,“water deity”), their yorishiro, or one of their temporary appearances.
A hairy kappa is called a hyōsube (ひょうすべ) Hyosube. There are more than eighty other names associated with the kappa in different regions, including kawappa, gawappa, kōgo, mizushi, mizuchi, enkō, kawaso, suitengu, and dangame.
Along with the oni and the tengu, the kappa is among the best-known yōkai in Japan.
. . . It has been suggested that the kappa legends are based on the Japanese giant salamander or hanzaki 半割 / 半裂 オオサンショウウオ, an aggressive salamander that grabs its prey with its powerful jaws.
. . . shirikodama (尻子玉)- source : wikipedia

Sunny Seki (Author)
The Last Kappa of Old Japan is a warmly written and beautifully illustrated children's book that introduces many aspects of traditional Japanese culture and folklore, while teaching an important lesson about environmentalism.
The story is of a young Japanese farm boy who develops a friendship with a mythical creature— the kappa—a messenger of the god of water. The tale begins in post-Modern Japan when the boy is young and the kappa is healthy and ends when the kappa, now the last one left on Earth, keeps an important promise to his human friend. - source : www.amazon.com